Very carbonated bottle, not a gusher, but loud noise and very frothy head. As soon as I opened the bottle I could smell sweet malt and hops.

A- Kind of an ugly beer. Odd looking light yellow colored brew. Hazy as well, almost lemon juice looking. It looks like when you go to wash your glass, and the residue of the previous beer mixes with the water and makes a hazy unappetizing color.

S- smells lemonie and sweet. Also the rye seems to come through in the smell more than the taste.

T- 2.5 This beer is really watery. ughck, I never say that about beer. I've had some funky beer, but this is not very good, and extremely unbalanced. There is a sour note that just doesn't go with the beer at all. Very lemonie, I wouldn't be surprised if they used real lemons. I truly appreciate sour beers by the way. It does taste better served warm. And the aftertaste is just awful.

Maybe if they condensed the beer, using less water is would taste better and have a better mouthfeel.

This was one of my lowest review. I like Mayflower brewing company. I honestly feel bad when I don't like a beer. But reviews are based upon personal opinion. And I think this beer kind'a sucks. (1,178 characters)

Dont know what to sayI was looking forward to a new rye ale.The pour was very very pale yellow, almost too difficult to describe. There was no immediate aroma to this one.The taste is ok , nothing fantastic, but cleanStrange spice at the end.

Nothing bad about this beer, but also nothing I could get excited about. (320 characters)

This beer has a soft amber-golden cloudy appearance with some lacing. Its smell is quite pungent, like a very sweet and somewhat fermented orange. I detected both wheat and floral hops in the aroma.

There is definitely some sparkle to the carbonation, which is not overt and helped by the spicy hops flavour. I don't get as much wheat as I was hoping; contrary to the smell and appearance, this beer's taste is not full-bodied, although the hops certainly linger.

Good for Mayflower for branching out and experimenting with different flavours and ingredients, but I unfortunately don't feel that this beer is all that well balanced. (634 characters)

Bleached white, uneven surface with many larger bubbles forming random peaks, crests a little over one finger, holds on well enough, the lacing forms as a thin, broad sheet which easily slides back down into the liquid below. The liquid itself is as pale as imaginable, looks like yellow tap water, mild translucency, one big storm of large bubbles rise swiftly upwards. The nose comes across as somewhat “skeletal” as in gaunt and not much happening, floral with chamomile and citrus blossom notes, unprocessed grains, chief most rye, black peppercorns, metallic accents, any fruit to be had mainly green grapes, apples and apricot pits, has sufficient weight to persist in the nostrils. Light-bodied, the lack of flavor is evident from the start making it feel even more dilute. Iron flecks, lemon peels, water crackers, pepper, used tea bags, here does not have the level of florality found in the nose. The carbonation is muscular and round in character, not so much tingly or scrubbing. Muddled white pit fruits and apples. Almost has to have a clean finish as there’s not enough there to make a mess with. (1,117 characters)

A - Straw color and incredibly murky. Can't see through it whatsoever. Bright head with huge bubbles that disappears quickly.

S - The aroma is a bit faint, but there are clear banana, lime juice, and cilantro aromas. The rye can be found in the form of spice and whole wheat bread if you really search for it.

T - Corn flakes and rye bread characters work well with the coriander and citrus flavors, but all flavor seems a bit dull. This is mainly due to the fact that this beer has little to no carbonation, keeping many of the flavors suppressed.

M - Medium body with little carbonation to little the mouthfeel, which would make it a bit more crisp and dry.

O - It has some potential, but this attempt at a rye and wheat summer thirst-quencher has muddled flavors and severely lacks carbonation. (802 characters)

An interesting Thing from the brewery of one of my favorite porters. Foggy and hazy in the glass, the color of watered-down Pine-Sol with plenty of the lemons found in that cleaner but none of the ammonia or whatever the solvent is that they use. Oddly, I detected a distinct aroma of vinyl or... rubber? Something plasticky. The head lasted but an instant. Some bitterness in the nose as well. The vinyl carries into the taste, somewhat covered by lemons and cloves but still prominent. A bit fruit-punchy overall, with a denser body and nice fizz to cut into the summer heat. Still, this is no Great Beer but rather a ho-hummer that you can drink easily. The rye adds some spice and a new tang that isn't present in other lighter fare, and the low ABV makes this a slammer after you finish painting the bathroom on a stagnant and stuffy July afternoon. I ought to be able to choke back the remaining five bottles, but I probably won't be repeating this beer. (960 characters)

Summer Rye opens with a light fanfare of wheat fields, toast crust, biscuit, and peppery rye aromas, sweetened by Belgian-like touches of banana and clove (though these are quite faint), with a suggestion of brown sugar, apricot, and anise. Only the slightest note of pine speaks to hops. As a whole, the nose is very light--perhaps overly so, even though this is a summer beer--and while the aromas that are present smell lovely, they could use a bit of amping up. There’s also just a bit too much emphasis on anise, pepper, and rye, which when combined give the beer a hot rubber/inner tube overtone, which does not play well off of the sugars.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a good mix of banana and clove, joined quickly by peppery rye, white bread toast crust, floury baguette, and sugars in the form of white grape, apricot, and pear. Luckily the inner tube aroma doesn’t translate into taste. Small hints of grapefruit rind and pine come from the hops. The flavors as a whole are much better balanced here than on the nose, but still tend toward the rye/anise/pepper combo just a bit too much, and bite at the tongue. Despite this biting, however, the beer comes across as watery, the flavors muted and weak, excepting pepper and rye. The aftertaste is more pepper and rye, with remnants of wheat stalks and hay, and lingers for a short while. Mouthfeel is light to medium-light, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this had promise to be a good beverage, as the rye flavors are out in front and potent, but there simply weren’t enough other flavors in here, even considering that it’s a summer ale. The watery taste and mouthfeel seem to evidence that the brew could have used a few more handfuls of malt and hops, the former being especially important in providing a better sugary backbone. (1,813 characters)

When i poured this into a pint glass, it has a bright golden body with one inch of white fizzy head, that dissappears to a thin lace. The smell is citrus hops. The taste is citrus, with some rye notes. The mouth feel is smooth crisp. Overall this is one i would drink in the summer. (282 characters)

Mayflower Summer Rye has a bright golden body and a bright white head that settles quickly without leaving a substantial lacing.

The aroma is a little bit strange. A ton of spiciness from the rye, a good amount of hops, and what smells a little bit like a wheat twang.

Summer Rye just doesn't really work for me. It reminds me of a bad American Saison mixed with a decent hoppy-wheat beer. The hop profile is big and fairly bitter, but it mixes with what seems to be a good bit of wheat. The rye adds a ton of spiciness to that mix, which is what reminds me of a saison. The flavor profile presents itself as an American Saison that relied heavy-handedly on spices instead of letting the yeast do its job. This is a strange beer.

Mouthfeel was OK, nothing remarkable. A little dry in the finish from the hops.

After my first sip of this beer I actually had to ask the bartender if I got the right beer because I wasn't sure what the hell I was drinking. I'm a mayflower fan, but this one just didn't work for me, although I do appreciate the low ABV for a summer beer. (1,072 characters)

Appearance: Pours with a three-finger, pure white head. Color is clear on the edges, and sort of a golden champagne towards the middle. Lots of champagne-like bubbles, too.

Smell: Smells of musty basement, with a fruity sweet hint. Otherwise, aroma is somewhat lacking, even though I could smell it almost as soon as I opened it.

Taste: Citrus straight up front. Then a touch of hops comes through, then a big bready note. Perhaps the wheat. Aftertaste is light, refreshing and a bit sweet.

Feel: Light body. When it first enters your mouth, it's actually disappointingly watery, though the minimal carbonation helps as you taste it.

Overall: I find that some beers that lack complexity can be commended because they are easy to knock back without having to appreciate it fully. However, I think this beer needs more complexity - it seems muted. Aroma is somewhat dulled, flavors aren't very potent, and the feel and carbonation could be kicked up. It is however, very refreshing. (985 characters)

Smells of sweet wheat and some yeast. Not much else, but it is inviting -- I can be generous in the rating here.

A wheat beer with some spice and bite. First sip and you like it, and then you see it for what it is -- a mess. Wheat at the start, sweet and tasty, then bitterness, peach pit-like. Maybe some white pepper, a touch of sourness, but not lemon, more like Berliner-weisse, but not in a good way. Ugh...I don't know. Long bitter aspirin-like finish. Almost too dry. Really glad I only got a single.

Lighter-bodied, some prickly carbonation. They got this spot-on.

Overall, not great. Maybe with some spicy food, but I could never have two of these in succession. The bitter edge in this one just sucks the life out of the beer. I actually think my ratings (flavor-wise), might be too generous. if you want to drink local and support the little guy, try this. If not, I certainly would not trade for this. (987 characters)

This beer isn't doing it for me. It looks like a witbier, it has the slight pricklishness on the tongue as a wheat, and it has some of the lemony and coriander flavors of a hefeweizen but it has the crude, raw and unsweet character of a rye ale. Rye ales just should not be blended with summery type ales because the characteristics of each do not lend themselves to the others. It is a disappointing experiment.

The beer pours a cloudy, dirty dishwater yellow with no head and no lace. The nose has witbier or hefeweizen all over it. You have the cloves, coriander, lemony orange peel, and some subtle spices. The nose is very good. The taste is a real let down and it is from the rye. The grain is just too coarse to be in a summer ale. Enough said. The beer is very light bodied and somewhat refreshing, but it is flawed. (826 characters)

Cloudy yellow, a bit murky, with a fine skim of white bubbles and a thin collar. A bit of lacing, fair head retention. Sour wheat aroma dominated initially, but spicy rye took over as it warmed. A bit of lemon character and citrusy hops too. Bracing bitterness, spicy and peppery, light malt, lemony bitter finish. Light to the point of being thin, dry, a bit of a soapy texture. Light and refreshing, but the mouthfeel was a bit harsh. This one was okay, but it didn't really come together for me. (498 characters)

Pours a strange hazy yellow that is very watery looking. Almost reminds me of lemonade. Not a good looking beer at all. Aroma is mostly spicy rye, wheat, citrus and grainy malts. Flavor follows the nose with a pale, sweet pilsner malt backbone, spicy rye again, and finishes with a slightly sour citrus/grapefruity bite. There is also a yeasty/musty character throughout. Very light, watery mouthfeel. No alcohol presence detected. This is what BMC drinkers should be drinking. I could drink an entire six-pack sitting by the pool. (531 characters)

It pours hazy pale yellow to olive with lively carbonation going up to a fizzy white head.

The aroma is of grains, toasted biscuit, lemon, and maybe some floral hops.

The body is light to medium and reasonably refreshing. Good for a summer weight.

The taste brings out the rye grains at first with a notable lemon and floral hop character on the backside. Slightly tart ending. Not high on my list of Mayflower brews but it would be good in the summer. (534 characters)

pours a terribly hazy light golden with a decent white head that barely laces.

very aromatic. smells of a wheat beer with plenty of added spice. lemony, and sour orange citrus mixes with some pepper, clove, and other spices. rye is barely evident.

taste is of a witbier, but dry on the finish. lemon, orange zest mixes with banana and tropical fruits and clove spiciness. rye spiciness is there on the back end and there is a drying finish with just a bit of pepper and some bitterness lingering.

light and watery with just a bit of carbonation and a bit of a lingering oiliness and tartness.

it drinks ok. nothing is oppressive, but I have had more refreshing summer seasonals, as well as more flavorful and more aromatic too. Rye is way too far in the background in this one, and it falls into just another wheat beer category. (833 characters)

There isn't much to this beer, and that's the point. It's a summer thirst quencher that has some zing and zap.

A pale orange pour, minimal head that has some loose bubbles. Light aroma of bread spice and lemon zest, but not much of the latter. Light and bubbly on the tongue. Flavor would be bland if not for the rye. It brings in some spice that livens things up a bit. An easy drinking beer. Good for picnic (412 characters)

an insanely pale beer, almost white in color, looking more like a Berliner than anything else, hazy and yellow, like its all wheat, but there is some substantial rye under the lace airy white head. nose shows some mild spice and plenty of malt heft for its color, and the flavor agrees. spicy from the rye, cracked white pepper earthiness and a dried fruit aspect as well. some wheat in here too though, there has to be. carbonation and body are both up for how light it is, and the rye is the dominant flavor, although not out of balance. I may prefer a moderately larger hop plan for this thing, give it a finish, but I must admit this is extremely unique as a session beer with the hops so mellow. its refreshing but a little filling I found, but still appropriate in hot weather. I like how pale it is, lets the rye show though really brilliantly. my first mayflower beer has me keen for more from them, and that's always a good sign. on tap at the farmhouse burlington (973 characters)

Bottle to pint glass. Bottle indicates that it was packaged on 05/04/10. No ABV listed. Reviewed mid July.

A: Pours with a large 3 1/2 finger head of pure white soapy bubbles. The head deflates slowly and inconsistently leaving behind a lopsided mass as chunks of foam cling to the glass. Fair lacing overall. The body is lightly murky and has a very pale, very light yellow hue. The second pour deposits lots of yeasty sediment, completely clouding the body.

S: Lightly toasted grainy malts. The pilsner and wheat malts are more noticeable to me than the rye. Light citrusy hops aromas of lemon and grapefruit.

M: The mouthfeel is the biggest, strongest aspect of the brew. Medium-full body, minerally texture influenced by a high level of lively and fizzy carbonation. The finish is dry and almost void of flavor but it is lightly acidic and rather refreshing.

D: Drinkability is good but not great. There are equally light and refreshing quaffs available that provide more substantial nose and flavor. (1,221 characters)